Luke went over to the couch and gently tapped Luca's face. "Wake up." Luca gave no reaction, as though she did not know that her life was in danger. If he had not discovered the live stream in time, or if he had chosen to ignore it, she would definitely have been violated. The manager could discern which floor the room was. If the manager or one of the waiters had seen the live stream, Luca would not have been so lucky. Luca's face was flushed, but her body temperature was normal. He looked at her for a while before he reached out, buttoned her shirt, and picked her up in a bridal carry. Luca was not heavy, so it did not take Luke much effort to carry her out of the room. Tommy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his father come out with Luca. "Daddy, is Ms. Luca okay?" "She's okay. She's just drunk," Luke said. Tommy nodded, though he remained worried. Luke carried Luca toward the elevator. Jason remembered that the three other people were still knocked out downsta
"Let her rest for a little longer. If she hasn't woken up by tomorrow, I'll know what to do. You should go to bed," Luke said to Tommy. Tommy nodded, though he could not be at ease when he saw that Luca was still unconscious. "Can I sleep beside Ms. Luca?" He asked. "You can't," Luke refused without any hesitation. "Why not?" Tommy protested. "I'm worried about Ms. Luca, and I hope that I'll be the first person she sees when she wakes up." "That won't be good for you. If you don't listen to me, I'll bring her downstairs," Luke said coldly. He knew that Tommy was worried about Luca, and the boy would not sleep if he lay by her side. That was why he insisted on Tommy sleeping in his room. When he heard that Luke was going to bring Luca downstairs, Tommy knew better than to challenge his father's authority. "Please don't. I'll go and sleep in my room. I hope you can get well soon, Ms. Luca." Then, he turned around and left. Luke saw that Tommy kept on turning his head ba
Luke seemed pensive. Judging from her current condition, she would only wake up the next morning. Since Luca was not waking up anytime soon, Luke leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. The next morning, when Luca opened her eyes and saw the ceiling above her, she was quite surprised. Furrowing her brows, she tried to jog her memory about what happened the night before. Hotel, Luke, Abel… Before she could organize her thoughts, she heard Luke's voice next to him. "You're awake." His voice was lazy yet charming. Luca turned her head and saw the man sitting on the chair. The sunlight shone from the window and landed on her back, and the glare made her unable to discern his expression. "I'm…" She sat up and looked at her clothes. She was still wearing the clothes from the night before, though they were slightly wrinkled. "Do you remember what happened last night?" Luke asked. Jason had brought Dr. Albus and the others to have their blood samples taken at the hospital
Even though Luca said that she was fine, Tommy was worried because he could tell that Luca's condition was not back to normal yet. He followed behind her out of the bedroom and to the exit. "I think you should continue resting here, Ms. Luca. If you don't want to sleep in Daddy's bedroom, you can sleep in mine," Tommy said. "I'm fine. I just need to go back to my room and take some medicine. Don't worry," Luca said as she pushed herself out of the suite. She knew the type of drug that Abel had used on her. Even though the initial effect was gone, it took the body some time to fully rid itself of the drug. Luca did not want to wait, so she would rather take the antidote. With the antidote, her body will recover quickly. As Tommy watched Luca leave, he went over to his father's side and tugged his shirt sleeve. "Daddy, is Ms. Luca really okay?" "She'll be fine." Luke remained impassive as he watched her leave. He saw her teeter when she first stepped out of the bed, and he
"When can you find that out?" Luke asked. "It'll take at least two days," Johann said as he closed the folder. He was quite interested in what they found. A mysterious substance was found in all three blood samples, and it had knocked out the three people at the same time. Then, the three people woke up at the same time. As far as he knew, no known sedative could achieve that. "That's too slow." Luke was not satisfied. Johann shrugged. He knew that Luke wanted both speed and precision, but between the two, he could only choose the latter. "There's nothing we can do about it. That is a rare substance, and if someone had created it in the lab, I have to say that I'm really impressed." Luke shot a glance at Johann, which caused him to shudder. "Don't look at me like that. We doctors have to be rigorous in our research. You'll just have to wait. Right, I heard that Dr. Craw was there too. Is she alright?" Johann asked out of concern. Jason had told him briefly what happened t
He realized that Abel would not hesitate to harm Luca if it meant that he got his revenge against Luke. If Luke had ignored the stream, someone else would have found Luca. Amur dared not imagine what would happen to her if that were the case. Luca's eyelids drooped. Even though she was fully unconscious throughout the entire ordeal, thinking about it now made her feel afraid. A few years on the Island of Despair had hardened Luca's heart, but even so, she could not help but feel afraid of what Abel had done to her. If taking revenge on Luke involved harming her, she would have to be more careful in the future. "Amur, you should return to the island after you've completed your mission," she said. She had a feeling that Amur would be harmed if he continued to stay by her side. She might be implicated as well. "I'm not going back," Amur shook his head and said. Now that Abel had done something like that to Luca, he was not going to leave her alone in A City. "No. I don't k
Luke held Tommy's hand, and the two people went into the room and sat on the couch. The room was quite spacious, but once Luke stepped inside, Luca felt the space shrink. Even though it was quite cramped, she thought that it was inexplicably homely. Now that the father and son had staked out the couch, Luca could only sit on the swivel chair and look at them. Tommy was the first to break the silence. "Ms. Luca, have you had dinner?" "I was about to," Luca shook her head and said. She might still be sleeping if she had not been woken up by the doorbell. After taking the antidote, she had to sleep for long periods to recover. Tommy looked at the time, and his expression suddenly became stern. "You shouldn't eat dinner so late, Ms. Luca. That's not good for your health." Luke glanced at the meal cart in the room. He noticed that there was still some breakfast on it. It must have been the room service he had ordered for her, and she did not eat much. "Have you been sleeping
Luca was at the conference at Solomon's time of death, so she could not have been his killer. Even so, Luke could not help but have the feeling that was something more to the incident. Luca could tell that Luke was trying to find out something, but she remained calm because there was no direct link between her and Solomon's death. She shook her head and said, "It's not surprising even if a fellow gang member did him in." Amur was silent as he listened to Luke's probing questions. The police had concluded that Solomon died in a gang conflict, so Amur did not have to say anything. In any case, the police would not track him down, and they would not disturb Luca either. "Mm." Luke nodded. He had been observing Amur from the corner of his eye. Even though Luca had told him that they were not biological siblings, he could not help but think that they were not siblings at all. When Amur came in, he caught a scent of drugs on his body. Luke continued asking, "Mr. Amur, why did you
“You don’t need to remind me. I was going to check anyway.” Abel shot Luca a chilling look.She took a step back and stayed silent.Abel turned to the pale-faced Hera and said, “If you’ve got low blood sugar, get up and eat something.”“I’ll eat now,” Hera replied, sitting up.Luca handed her the takeout.Abel glanced at the food and then frowned at Luca. “Why didn’t you make breakfast this morning?”“I was busy,” Luca explained with a calm indifference, her expression unwavering. She showed no fear, even under Abel’s questioning.Hera suddenly found herself admiring Luca. Everyone feared this man, yet Luca remained composed even when facing potential punishment. Not just anyone could pull that off.At the thought of this, Hera opened the takeout and kept quiet.Abel narrowed his eyes, glancing between Hera and Luca. His gaze was not exactly gentle as he muttered, “Stop eating this junk. It’s bad for you.”“I know, babe. Just this once. After this, I’ll have what Luca cooks f
Hera panicked the moment she heard that. “I trust her!”Luca and Shanks were both watching her.Hera repeated herself, saying, “I trust her, okay? What kind of treatment does she need? I’ll cooperate with anything. But what about Abel…”“I’ll tell him it’s just to help improve your overall health,” replied Shanks. Then, he turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, and started preparing the prescription.Hera let out a sigh of relief. As long as Abel did not find out about her health condition, that was all that mattered.If he knew she was unwell, he would send her back to A City. Without free medical help and no way to make extra money, she would be in serious trouble.“Thank you,” said Hera.“Wait outside,” instructed Shanks.“Okay.” Hera carefully stepped out.Luca, however, remained where she was, waiting.While preparing the medicine, Shanks asked, “Do you know which acupoints to target for her?”“Yes,” Luca replied confidently. As long as she checked Hera’s pulse, sh
“There are a lot of issues.” Luca did not hide anything and handed Hera the phone.Hera looked at it and frowned.“I can't understand any of this.” Hera felt dizzy just looking at the text, let alone the long list of medical terms. It was giving her a headache.“Look at these summaries and indicators. Compare the values on top with the normal values at the bottom, and you'll see what I mean,” explained Luca.Hera did not trust her. Therefore, Luca decided to let her see for herself. Seeing it with her own eyes would prevent any doubts later.Luca pointed out how to read the test results, and after a moment, Hera managed to understand the report. Her face turned pale. “How can there be so many problems?”She looked at Luca and questioned, “Did you fake this?”“I don’t have the power to make the medical center fake anything. Besides, the report has the medical center’s official stamp. If you don’t believe me, you can go directly to the medical center and ask for the official cop
“I heard from the boss that he's coming because of Vivian.” Gale paused for a moment before adding, “But never mind, you don't seem interested in her affairs anyway. I'm just letting you know he's on his way.”Gordan frowned. Ray was coming for Vivian?What could that ugly woman possibly need?“What do you mean by that?” asked Gordan.Gale smirked. “If you and Ray meet, that’s bound to end in a fight. And since you can't win against him, you might want to mentally prepare yourself, or better yet, find somewhere else to stay. It’d be safer that way.”Gordan's expression darkened. “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it.”Gale grinned, clearly pleased with himself like he had just hit a sore spot.Gordan exhaled sharply. “Of all times, why is he coming to A City now? He’s just making things worse.”“It can't be helped. Vivian's situation is urgent.” Gale covered his mouth mockingly after he said that. “Oh, right. I forgot you don’t like hearing about her.”Ray wanted to br
Luke sat in the villa, staring at Luca’s message.He was worried.For a moment, he considered calling her, but then he remembered that there were surveillance cameras everywhere on her side. He dismissed the idea immediately.Her safety came first.Luke reminded her: [Take care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.] The worry in his heart refused to subside, but at this moment, there was no better solution.“Boss, you’re worried about your wife, huh? If you really can’t stand it, we can sneak you in again during the next shift change, just like last time,” said Gale.It had been his idea last time.Now, the real Lucius was still locked up in the basement of the villa.It had been nearly a month. Luke had forced him to take the antidote Luca had recreated. The man was still alive, proving the antidote worked perfectly.“That plan is too risky.” Luke put his phone away. His gaze was dark and thoughtful.“Risky, sure. But at lea
Luca had not expected Abel and Shanks’ relationship to be like this.It seemed Abel still did not trust Shanks.Shanks continued, “Abel isn’t someone who trusts people easily. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’s devoted to Kassy now, right? That’s just his obsession. He's allowing Kassy to receive my treatment, but if it were him… No matter if he were blind or crippled, his safety would always come first. If he were seriously injured, maybe he’d accept treatment, but he definitely wouldn’t do it right away.”Luca stayed silent. Shanks really understood Abel well.Abel did not trust anyone—not even Kassy.Calling him paranoid would not be an exaggeration.Luca felt like they were getting off-topic, but she had never seen this side of Shanks before.In her mind, he was always buried in his work at the lab, only leaving for meals and sleep. Other than that, he was practically never outside.The lab was like his home…“Are you troubled by Hera’s situation?” Luca asked directly
Hera was startled by Luca's words.The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue suddenly got stuck in her throat.“I…” Hera hesitated, feeling conflicted. Leaving Abel might not be such a bad idea. At least she would not have to live in constant fear.She was finally realizing how unpredictable his moods were. At first, she thought it did not matter as she could still look at other men. She just had to ensure there was no physical contact. In reality, even if she so much as glanced at someone, Abel's expression would darken with anger.It was frustrating. Now, the only person she was allowed to look at was Gerald. Still, what was the point of just looking at Gerald?At that thought, she lifted her gaze to Luca.Luca added, “I’ll give you five minutes. If you refuse treatment after that, I’ll take the medicine back to Mr. Shanks and won’t try to convince you again.”Hera's heart tightened. She did not even need five minutes. She had made her decision within 30 seconds.“I’
“If Abel finds out that Hera's body isn't suitable for organ donation to Kassy, what do you think he'll do?” asked Shanks.He already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Luca’s thoughts.“He has invested a lot of time and money in Hera. If he gets nothing out of it, he won’t let her off easily,” Luca said bluntly.Luca and Shanks were on the same page.They did not have a good relationship with Hera, but they had no intention of ruining her either.Hera’s personality was unpleasant, but that was not enough for them to hate her so much that they wanted to see her suffer.“What methods do you think he’ll use?” Shanks asked again.Luca was silent for a long moment.Shanks already knew the answer, yet he still wanted her to say it out loud.After thinking it over, she finally said, “There are plenty of ways he could go about it, but no matter what he chooses, Hera’s fate is sealed. She’s as good as dead…”She lowered her gaze, her tone firm and certain.Shanks nodded.
Hera heard that Luca had returned and immediately went to find Shanks. She narrowed her eyes.That woman went to see Shanks. Could she be talking about her?The thought made Hera uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with her medical report.However, when they left the medical center earlier, Abel asked Luca when the report would be ready, and she said it would be available tomorrow.Hera turned to Gerald and said, “Take these back for me first.”“Alright.” Gerald carried the bags as he walked away. He could not help but wonder what exactly Hera bought. These bags were really heavy!Only after Gerald went upstairs did Hera slowly make her way up as well. Her room was on the third floor, but she stopped when she reached the second floor. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading toward the laboratory.The door was closed.Instead of knocking, Hera pressed her ear against it, trying to eavesdrop.However, the laboratory was special